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# Introduction to Plugins

Plugins are binaries that run alongside developer dashboard to provide additional functionality. Plugins are built using [go-plugin](https://github.com/hashicorp/go-plugin) in order to communicate with the dashboard over gRPC.

The goal of this documentation is to provide:

1. Instructions for building and installing a plugin
1. A description of plugin capabilities
1. Code examples for developers to write their own plugins

## What can plugins do?

Plugins can:

* Add new tabs to the dashboard
* Include additional content to an existing summary section
* Create a new section in an existing tab
* Port forward to a running pod

By using the components available in `/pkg/view/components`, plugins can display new information in desired areas of the dashboard. Entirely new layouts can also be created through `pkg/view/flexlayout`.

## Next Steps

Take a look at how to get started with [Go Plugins](/?path=/docs/docs-plugins-2-go-plugins--page)
Reach out to us for feedback/troubleshooting, check the [Community page](https://octant.dev/community) for Slack, mailing list, and more.
